I have no idea why you would think that. The next generation of consoles is well overdue, and from what we know, they will be very powerful and flexible hardware. I'm quite excited for it, if only to see how they will push gaming technology forward and make it easier for independent developers to publish for consoles.

Prices seem in line with the previous generation, so where's the rip-off?

£400 ($620) for the console is pretty steep, regardless how we try to account for inflation. The Xbox 360 launched in the UK a good £100 cheaper, as did the PS2 and Xbox original. The PS3 in the last/current gen was the exception rather than the rule with it's unholy price tag.

For me, these prices have crossed that imaginary threshold that I consider to be reasonable. It could have a special button that ejected naked ladies, and I'd still consider it too expensive. It could have all the best engineering in the world under the hood, but the benefits I'll get as a consumer aren't worth £100 by any stretch. The price tag, for me, simply isn't worth it.

There's also probably an element of the fact that I'm somewhat spoiled being part of the glorious PC gaming master race where I still pay between £10 and £30 for games, and don't have to buy the console at all*.

* I'm aware that I have to buy the PC, but I do much more with it than simply game, and it'd cost nearly the same price if I didn't game on it.

£400 ($620) for the console is pretty steep, regardless how we try to account for inflation. The Xbox 360 launched in the UK a good £100 cheaper, as did the PS2 and Xbox original. The PS3 in the last/current gen was the exception rather than the rule with it's unholy price tag.

Assuming 3% inflation, an increase from 300 to 400 is pretty much what you'd mathematically expect after 10 years.

I have to agree on the price of games and the inflexibility though - it's probably the #1 reason I'm not interested in owning a console myself. When I say I'm excited for the next-gen of consoles, it's more as an observer than an active participant. Better consoles will mean better PC games!

It could have a special button that ejected naked ladies (...) glorious PC gaming master race

I smell Yahtzee Croshaw although if it did have a special button that ejected naked ladies (assuming pretty and young ones) it'd already be on my pre-order list, personally.

The price of games is indeed a massive factor for people not buying console games. The 360 has very high piracy rates whereas the ps3 has low piracy as the protection is better, you often have to wait days for a patch to make new ps3 games work. Also 360 was cracked years before ps3 too. You would think that the prices wouldn't be too high until these new consoles are cracked as they know that 100% of users have paid. I reckon they will charge high prices for the first 9 months then drop them to a £40 level.

No offense, but I find that very hard to believe. I have yet to see a console where the hacking community does put forth a good effort in circumventing the security of the system. As far as I know the only reason they go into the PS3 was due to those leaked keys.

Back to the topic, I'll be more inclined to believe the price when Sony actually announces something (likely at E3 which is what, about 6 weeks away now?).

It's not inconceivable to have an angry mob when you remove a cool feature like installing an alternate OS. I was really rustled by that and everyone wanted to grab Sony by the neck for the actions they were taking